Managed Cache Service has different cache offerings which provide flexibility in the choice of cache size and features. If the requirements of your application change after a cache is created, you can change the size and features of your cache using the Scale tab for Cache in the Azure Management Portal. This topic provides an overview of scaling a cache in Managed Cache Service.

You can use the monitoring features of Managed Cache Service to monitor the health and performance of your Managed Cache Service applications and to help determine if there is a need to scale the cache. If you determine that your cache is no longer meeting the requirements of your application, you can increase or decrease the cache memory available with your current cache offering, or you can scale to a new cache offering.

Cache memory is purchased and configured in units. Basic caches have 128MB units, Standard caches have 1GB units, and Premium caches have 5GB units. When you increase or decrease cache memory, the memory scales in terms of these units. The Cache Memory slider on the Scale tab for Cache shows the amount of memory currently allocated, and the amount of memory available for scaling. Cache memory is increased or decreased by adjusting this slider.

On the Scale tab for Cache in the , move the Cache Memory slider to the desired decreased memory setting, and click Save. It takes a few moments for the new cache memory size to be saved. When decreasing cache memory, you can only decrease the memory by two units at a time. If you need to decrease the cache memory by more than two units, you must perform this procedure multiple times until the desired cache memory size is configured.

If you require less capacity than the current cache offering, see the following Scale Cache Offering section in this topic.

Important

Data in the cache may be lost when cache memory is decreased, depending on the amount of data in the cache and how the data is distributed across the cache. You can check the usage of the cache by viewing Memory Used % and other metrics on the cache dashboard. If your cache is running close to capacity then for best performance it is not recommended to decrease cache memory. For more information, see Monitor Azure Managed Cache Service.

If you need more or less cache memory than available in the current cache offering, or you require features not found in your current cache offering, you can scale your cache to a different cache offering.

On the Scale tab for Cache in the , select the desired cache offering from the Cache Offering drop-down, and click Save.

Important

All items in the cache are lost when the cache offering is changed. It can take a few minutes for the new cache offering to be applied, and during this interval cache clients will still have access to the previous cache offering. When the new cache offering is ready to come online, there may be a very brief interval during the switchover where cache clients can't connect.